The Hidden Truth
by enixfreek32
Summary: Apparently, Barasuishou did survive... but not as anyone expected.  Or even remembered!  In fact, nobody even REMEMBERED her surviving!  So what really happened that day...?  A story that's a bit left of center.  READ AND REVIEW!


**Author's Note:** **All characters from Rozen Maiden are the sole copyrighted property of Peach Pitt. The only two characters that are mine are Lady Henrietta Rhodes and Desh the ascetic.  
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**Also, there are some spots in this story that appear as though I skipped over for the sake of convenience; not so. I just didn't want to rehash what you saw in the manga and/or the anime, that's all.**

**Oh, and this is my first story ever on this site. Enjoy!**

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**The Hidden Truth**

It was over in one swift motion.

The beleaguered boy simply watched helplessly as the doll, dressed in the scarlet Victorian dress and bonnet, the one he served as medium and servant to… keeled over after being stabbed by the impostor.

The only other human present in the N-field, the master's jealous apprentice, watched in sadistic delight as his own creation, a white-haired doll dressed in a mauve dress patterned as a blossoming flower, stood triumphantly over the other. Half of her right arm had been ripped off in the struggle. But she still triumphed.

The boy sat speechless, stricken with a sense of utter despair and hopelessness as he watched three Roza Mystica drift from the doll in red to the doll in mauve. After all he and his doll had struggled with, this is what it came down to?

Why? How?

"Now, boy," sneered the master as his doll finished absorbing the mysticae. "Witness the creation of the greatest doll of all time."

The doll, cool, emotionless and imperious as always, strode over to her own master's side.

The boy exploded in a dire rage, and threw himself upon the doll maker. "Bring them back! Bring back the others, _now_, you inhumane monster! Coward! You and your dirty, horrible, unforgivable…!"

The boy was met with a swift backhand from the doll maker that sent him flying onto the floor, dazed and limp.

"Hmmph! You still know nothing, you stupid little boy. After all, you are only Shinku's medium by accident. You're not a master craftsman as I am, so spare me your pitiful, worthless lectures!" Then he turned back to his doll with a loving gleam in his eye reserved only for his creations. "Now shut up and watch as the greatest doll in history is born."

The doll sidled closer to her father. "Father," she whispered just as lovingly. "Now I am more powerful than the dolls of Rozen, yes?"

"Yes," he whispered back as he gently stroked her hair. "My most beautiful of all creations… Barasuishou. You are much more powerful than all other dolls."

She smiled back, the first genuine smile she had ever shown to anyone. "Father…"

They gazed into each other's eyes, one moment that was - to them - absolutely perfect.

Until she started gasping for breath, a terrible grimace crossing her face as she clutched at her chest.

"Barasuishou, what… what is the matter?"

She gasped back, "M… my… chest! It's… so hot!"

A look of horror crossed the face of the doll-maker. "What?"

She looked again in his eyes, this time with abject terror… as her eyepatch suddenly snapped apart, and fell to the floor. A lone tear trickled down her left cheek.

She stumbled backwards out of her father's embrace. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head… and her expression slowly faded from fear and panic… into a strangely beleaguered and angry grimace.

"Dammit!" she roared… her voice having changed pitch _and_ in her style of speech. "I can take no more of this madness!"

"Ba-ba… Barasuishou! What is happening to you?" screamed her father in a panic.

The boy shook the cobwebs out of his head and watched, just as confused.

The doll let forth a raging, blood-curdling scream as she glowed brightly. Six orbs of light burst out her body, and she tumbled to the floor.

Nobody moved for the longest time as she knelt to the floor, face down, gasping longingly for air almost as a newborn would. Moments later, she slowly sat back up on her knees.

Her face was riddled with cracks; dark branches played out in a wild growth from the bridge of her nose, down to various places along her jaw and around her ears. In fact, one ear was broken off halfway.

But what really struck the two humans was the look of absolute rage that had taken shape in her face. But even that wasn't quite as discomforting as much as _where_ her apparent rage was being focused.

As she stood up, she pinpointed her rage and hatred… on her father.

After several moments of tense silence, the doll-maker finally spoke up. "Barasuishou. My most prized creation. You have…"

"Shut your mouth this instant, you despicable, _contemptible_ worm!" she spat, confirming to the two humans that her voice and accent had _indeed_ changed. "How _dare_ you continue addressing me by that false label! I have had to spend over one-hundred years locked away in your little toy!"

The doll-maker was stunned; what was happening to his cherished creation?

"Now look at you!" she continued her abusive rant. "A complete shadow of a man, who could do little more than ride the coat-tails of a truly great man! You couldn't even craft a soul-crystal as your master could! You had to resort to actually _stealing_ people's souls and seal them into your crystal!" She glared at him for several moments before she spoke again. "Well? Out with it, then! What _have_ to say for yourself?"

"Barasuishou, please don't be angr…"

The craftsman was met with a swift, solid, blazing backhand from the doll, which sent him tumbling backwards.

But the horrendous stress that the Mysticae imposed on her body had taken its toll: her remaining hand had disintegrated on impact with his cheek. Her right ankle, which took the brunt of her force, fell apart just as readily. She tumbled onto the right side of her face, which then sported a huge, gaping, jagged hole.

"Gah, crumbs!" she cried in abject frustration. "So this is what the whole mess comes down to: cheated of my sworn duty by a pathetic wretch."

The man lost his resolve; tears rolled down his cheeks as he watched, utterly confused and torn at his creation. Why had she suddenly turned against him? Why? "How could you?" he sobbed. "I gave you life! I gave you a purpose! You were to become the greatest creation in the universe! How could you turn on me like this when I have given you nothing but love?"

Barasuishou laughed rather snidely as she leaned on her side to face him. "Ah, Enju. You stupid, pitiful excuse for a man. How can you even think to speak of 'love', that which you know too little of?"

"Because I love you!" he wailed. "You are my greatest treasure! I created you with all my heart and soul!" He inched forward as he reached out towards her.

She shook her head. "Fool!" she grunted as several sharp crystal menhirs shot up from the floor between the two of them, sending him flying back even further. She formed a large fortified ring around her and the boy.

On the outside, the man could be heard screaming, "NOOOOOOOO! WHY, BARASUISHOU! WHY HAVE YOU TURNED AGAINST YOUR FATHER?" He let forth one screaming sob after another as he cried in agony.

Barasuishou looked at the boy, rather worried. "Are you alright, Jun? You're not badly hurt or anything?"

Jun couldn't help but find himself rather stunned by the ironic nature of her question. "Well, never mind me. What about you?"

She looked down at her damaged body. "I must admit to having seen far betters, to be sure. Do be so good, then, as to give me a hand up. And try not to inflict further damage, what!"

The boy gently picked her up as he would a swaddling newborn.

Another crystal pedestal rose from the floor in the middle of the ring. It formed into a rather cozy-looking lounge chair.

"Now, you will need to properly set me up in that chair so that I may give myself a quick repair job. But as you do that, would take my boots off?"

He carefully placed her in her seat and removed the boots; the right boot still contained the crumbled remains of her foot.

"Oh, don't mind the mess, lad. Just dump out the remains, there's a good lad."

He reluctantly tilted the boots upside-down, almost feeling as though he were throwing away his childhood toy. Still, he emptied them clean of the debris.

Meanwhile, Barasuishou began to grow dark lavender-coloured crystals from both arms and her right foot; one piece even began to form from the edges of the hole in her face.

"Wow. Amazing," said the boy. "Did you even need the other dolls' Mysticae, Barasuishou…?"

"Ah-ah-ah-ah!" she interrupted scoldingly. "Let me first remind you, my name isn't Barasuishou. Though that _is_ the name of the doll. No, lad, my name is Lady Henrietta Rhodes, a Duchess late of New Delhi, India."

"Oh, I—I'm so sorry," he stammered. "I didn't know. Forgive me."

She laughed. "Now, now! No harm done, my dear, none at all. How could you have known, anyways?"

"Oh. So… um… what did he do with your old body?"

"Not a blessed thing, luv. He only waited in the night as I myself died of natural causes."

"Wha—what? You _died_!" sputtered the boy in shock.

"Well, my previous body died anyways. I was getting very old and ill. Once I did pass, it would have been my duty in the hereafter to become a Traumbeobachter (Dreamwatcher), part of a divine group of beings dedicated to the protection of the barrier between the worlds of reality and the worlds of the subconscious. Unfortunately, before I was to settle into my new post, that wretched Enju stole my spirit and sealed it into this… er… mystica, for want of a better term. Now, not only have I been sealed away, I have actually become the doll. Can you guess where the eyepatch came into play?"

"The eyepatch? Um… I don't really know."

"Take a guess, lad. It shouldn't be too difficult to deduce. A clue: why did I suddenly re-emerge once it fell off?"

Then it dawned on the boy. "It was meant to suppress you! It was meant to force Enju's will on you, so that she could actually become the doll he truly wanted."

"Bravo, my dear! That eyepatch in fact contained a sort of 'personality', if you will, meant solely to force me to behave as that little girl Enju so wanted. Sadly, it was dreadfully flawed and unable to think with any remote sort of logic. And with the help of the others, I was able to dispel its effects."

"So that you are yourself again."

"Quintessentially. Now this doll is _my_ current incarnation," she replied, emphasizing that Barasuishou was hers and hers alone; it was no longer Enju's plaything.

She began to flex her new crystal fingers on her left hand; each movement produced a strange, glassy creaking sound. Likewise as she flexed her new toes on her right foot. Her right hand wasn't as complete as the rest of her yet.

"Have you got a mirror handy, luv? I'm rather curious about my appearance."

A shard of shattered glass lay nearby. He held it up near her face.

The hole in her face was repaired, though it was a rather excessive job. The lower lid in her right eye was forced partially closed; her lips were shifted towards the left. "Tsk. Well, that will have to suffice until I can get it properly repaired."

Then the six mysticae gathered around the pedestal, floating around it at a certain distance.

"Ah, there you are, my dears!" said Lady Rhodes to them. "I must thank you for the absolutely remarkable job you have done to free me. Thank you ever so much, my dears! Now, now. It's quite alright. You can approach me as you will without worry."

One of them very slowly floated towards her. Henrietta lifter her hand to it.

"There's a good girl. No, the Barasuishou entity is no longer here to cause you grief. With me, you are all safe."

As for Enju, everyone had forgotten about him until he screamed again; this time, he screamed with scorn. "CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU, YOU UNGRATEFUL WRETCH!"

"Dammit!" she hissed. "We're not out of the woods yet, my friends!" Luckily, her right arm was now complete. She jumped down onto the floor as the pedestal disappeared. "Hear me now, Maidens of Rozen! Return at once to your original bodies so that we may fight for safe passage home!" The Mysticae all gladly went back to whence they came. "Get ready, lad. I will bring down the walls once everything is secured."

Section by section, the walls slid back down into the floor. They looked around very carefully.

The room had drastically changed: it was no longer an exquisite foyer full of numerous doors and passageways. It was now a massive courtyard of a dark, gloomy Gothic-style castle that had all but crumbled away from numerous years of abandonment.

"Good lord!" cried Rhodes. "Now we've got our work cut for us!"

A voice hissed behind them. "Did you think you could commit treason against me and _then_ try to abandon me?"

They spun around to face the source of the voice. From out of the shadows stepped Enju, dressed in a suit of dark steel & crystal armour. In his hands were a longsword and a round knight's shield.

"Did you fools think that dolls were the _only_ thing I could craft? Where _do_ you think I began my arts before Rozen even knew of me?" He laughed at them. It was laughter that betrayed a festering madness from within.

Henrietta Rhodes called out again, "Maidens of Rozen! Heed my call! If you can hear me, rise up and come fight by my side!"

But her call was met with no response.

"Can you not feel it, traitor? Your 'friends' have abandoned you."

Rhodes and Jun looked at each other in despair. But then, she steeled her resolve once more. "Jun! Go seek out the others! I will see to this madman!"

"What?"

"Don't stand there, stupid boy!" she hollered. "Go, I said! NOW!"

Off he ran, reluctantly at first. But he picked up speed and ran off to find the other dolls.

Enju was suddenly confused. Did he stand and fight the doll now, or did he chase after the boy? Not that it mattered. After all, Enju was not a knight, but merely a craftsman; his armoury was terribly unwieldy.

Nearby, one mystica found a small coat of arms in a nearby wall nook and brought it to Rhodes' attention; it was the perfect size for the Barasuishou doll. Rhodes' luck turned further into her favour after all. As Enju's attention was unfocused, she took her immediate opportunity to dodge his line of sight and make for that armour.

But that caught Enju's attention… just as he was about to chase after Jun. He decided instead to chase after the doll.

She ran as fast she could towards salvation… but she was only under a metre away when she was pinned down by Enju's large shield. He laughed a truly cruel laugh as he pulled his sword over his head, high as he could to bring back enough downward momentum for that one smashing blow.

The one blow that would seal the fate of this foolish thing that stood in his way.

"So," he growled. "You thought to stand in the way of my destiny, by stealing one my most cherished creations, didn't you? Year after year, I toiled away under the tutelage of that fool Rozen. Until the day I created something too beautiful, too pure to deny her destiny! And now _you've all cheated the both of us_!"

Had he suddenly realized that Barasuishou was gone? "You should have taken into consideration, Enju, what would have come about from actually _stealing_ the souls of others instead of creating an actual Mystica for your precious little plaything." She turned as best she could to look him in the eyes. Those mad, hateful eyes. "Since I needed a new body to commit to my duties, this one will suffice. Now it's mine! Barasuishou… is no more!" she added with a hiss.

Now Enju was _really_ in a quandary. He let his sword fall to his side, and fell to his knees, facing away from what used to be his creation. In that act of surrender, he'd also let his shield fall away from the doll's knees, allowing Rhodes to free herself, and inch very slowly towards the armour.

Just then, one - no, several of Rozen's Mysticae returned, and flew around his head like annoying insects. Despite his best efforts to swat them away, they consistently and incessantly buzzed around him, intent on making his day a living hell. One even poked him square in the eye.

He howled in pain, nursing his eye, twitching and reeling about all over the place.

Rhodes wasted not another moment. Within seconds, she was already dressing herself in that suit of plated armour, a feat that took her around five minutes… at best.

As she had expected, it was almost suited exclusively for the doll. What was more, she felt more protected than inside Dover Castle. All she needed now was a weapon - which she crafted by her own hand, using the powers of the doll: a massive, two-handed crystal claymore, just like the most widely respected weapon in her family's history.

Best of all, now she and Enju were on even ground. Even as a lady in the service of Her Majesty, she still trained to fight to protect her people, even the Indian people under her rule to whom she showed a remarkable kindness. Perhaps that ascetic she allowed to take residence in her palace was returning a great favour through his gods?

Because at that very moment, she saw his kind gentle face, his hairline completely receded, his grey hairs and beard all still terribly unkempt and scraggly from neglect; one of the most common signs of a genius too busy with his intellectual affairs to worry about his general appearance. Behind his beard was a wide, beaming smile that could win over many hearts.

Either way, now was the time to put her weaponry to good use. "That's quite enough, Rozens! Enju!" she called to her foe. "Turn and face me, wretch!"

The Rozen Mysticae all slowly backed away from their quarry, though one took a final potshot at his ear to produce one final wince from him. Still holding his eye from the hit, he turned to face the doll. He picked up his sword and his shield, and proceeded to respond to her challenge.

"We will see, you pile of rubbish, who the wretch is!" he snarled. "TO BATTLE!"

"EN GUARDE!" she responded gladly, as she followed up with a mighty swing towards his hip, which succeeded in merely tearing away a chunk of his armour.

He responded to the assault with a parry from his shield, and a wide swing with his sword.

The battle raged for several long, harsh hours. Again, it was cruelly evident that Enju was no warrior, let alone an armoured warrior.

Whereas Lady Henrietta Rhodes was clearly in her element as a knight in the thick of battle; a stubborn, hard-nosed, determined warrior whose sole purpose at hand was to fight to protect. It was just like the old days in the Indian colonies where she grew up, secretly training as a knight.

Today, here she was, over one-hundred years later, spending a good part of the afternoon fighting the man who created her reincarnation - albeit, very forcefully. Here she fought Enju, who fought back at the very creation who betrayed him, rent his heart asunder.

All afternoon, they exchanged blow after blow, scarring and tearing apart each other's armour, succeeding in giving each other glaring wounds. But as Lady Rhodes was the superior warrior, the wounds she dealt were more abundant, greater in severity.

Neither of them noticed that the other dolls had found their way to the courtyard to watch the battle.

Then came the climactic end to the battle; with several fierce, mighty swings with her massive blade, Rhodes knocked the shield and sword out Enju's hands, and knocked him off his feet with a mighty lunge at his now-exposed knee. He lay on his side, terribly exhausted, disheartened, badly wounded and unarmed.

He was beaten.

Lady Henrietta Rhodes menacingly stepped forward, the tip of her mighty claymore pointed straight at him, stopping when the tip stopped short of puncturing his neck.

"So, what are you waiting for, you backstabbing little fiend?" he grumbled. "Finish what you started. Kill me."

She lifted up her claymore to grant him his wish.

She swung her blade for one final cut.

But she didn't kill him. Instead, she swung her blade across his face at an angle so as to mark him with a rather painful souvenir of his loss. A huge gash played almost perfectly across his left cheek, from his ear, to the new hole in the bridge of his nose. Blood seeped steadily outwards, coating his cheek well in a freakish crimson display.

He touched the outflow, his hand trembling in shock, the tips of his glove now coated in red as well.

"Denied!" she declared. "Enju! You are hereby banished from this realm. You will return at once to whence you came. If you are ever found in this realm again, you will be punished with imprisonment for the remainder of your life."

Two dolls, one dressed as a boy in dark blue, and the other, a smaller one with large blonde curls and a pink dress, foolishly ventured too close to the two combatants.

Rhodes spotted them… far too late. "You two! Get away from here!" she screamed.

That split second was all Enju needed to bolt up on his feet and snatch both dolls up into his arms. "Hah! So you thought the tide was in your favour, eh! Well, tides have a tendency of turning!" He produced another smaller blade and pointed it at the dolls.

Lady Rhodes, now boiling with rage, knew what was going to happen; an all-too-classic case of hostage-taking.

"Now lower your weapon and let me free… or these pretty little dolls will earn my wrath!" The doll in pink started crying. The doll in blue held tightly to her hand. "You be quiet, or you will die first!" Now this was going too far.

"Where do you think to run, coward!" screamed Rhodes. "There is nowhere I won't find you!"

"I said PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPON!" he screamed even louder. "I _will_ destroy them!"

Although Enju paid no heed to the other dolls, they held fast as they inched towards him, unsure what to do next if they got too close. They also shared Rhodes' frustration of the situation at hand.

Then, from behind Enju, a portal silently opened up; a thin, scraggly figure seated on a square block of wood that floated in the air entered the scene. A Sikh-style knife silently slithered around Enju's neck.

"To the best of my knowledge, friend," a deep voice intoned with an Indian accent. "You were told that it is all over. Surrender the dolls… and begone!"

Enju knew a direly hopeless situation when he saw one… and this was one of them. He slowly dropped the dolls to the floor…

Then he whirled around, and violently elbowed the source of the voice, making good on his escape, laughing again like a lunatic. "You fools! Look what I've done!" he cried ecstatically.

In each hand was _a Rosa Mystica_.

And using the very energy from them, he produced a portal of his own. Everyone charged at him, but it was too late. Enju was gone, the mysticae with him.

"Hina Ichigo!" cried the doll in red.

"SOUSEISEKIIIII!" wailed the doll in the long green dress.

The lifeless dolls were solemnly picked up.

"DAMMIT ALL!" screamed Lady Rhodes as she threw her claymore to the floor, dashing it to pieces.

The figure on the wooden platform floated over to the armoured doll. "Do not be disheartened, my dear friend. Another day will emerge when you will indeed bring him to justice."

When Rhodes looked up look at him, she immediately recognized that familiar old face; the ragged long grey hair, the scraggly beard, and that gentle, winsome smile… and those eyes. Those beautiful, loving green eyes.

"Oh, Desh, my dear old friend! Finally, we meet again!" she cried as she hugged the thin mystic.

"As I am most happy to have finally found you."

Just then, all eyes were focused on another figure that silently entered the room. A humanoid rabbit, dressed in a tuxedo, a small top hat that fit snugly between his ears, and a varnished oak strolling cane with a brass handle stood by the two lifeless dolls and surveyed the scene for several minutes.

Finally, he spoke: "So, the light of truth was too bright for the impostors."

"And so they return to wallow in dark deceit," added Desh.

"Too true, my mystic friend. Now we must hurry away before this place falls apart and claims us altogether."

"That also leaves with the one dilemma of everyone's memories!" cried Desh with no shortage of concern. "If we Traumbeobachteren are to uphold our secrecy, we cannot be remembered like this!"

"That is true, my friend," replied Rhodes reassuringly. "But don't worry, all we need to do is recreate a memory for everyone before they go."

Everyone looked back at the pair, only the rabbit showing no sign of total confusion.

"Well, that is true, milady."

"Now, Desh!" she interrupted hurriedly. "That was then, when I was still Duchess of your region. Now the two of us - you and I - we are complete equals!" She gazed in his eyes with a reserved sort of love for him. "As far as I'm concerned, you, my friend, are just like the brother I wish I had. Demographics be damned!"

Desh was rather taken aback. "Of course… Hattie." He sheepishly cleared his throat. "And you are as my sister. You truly honour me with your words."

"And you would honour me with your dedicated service… as my partner." She ungloved her right hand, and extended it vertically, a clear sign that she wanted to shake hands, not have her ring finger kissed.

"Yes. Partners." He shook her hand in goodwill.

Then the castle began to shake; the N-field was beginning to collapse

"Rozen!" screamed Jun. "Where are you? Help us!"

Just then, the sound of one lone footstep could be heard as a mysterious figure in the shadows brought himself into view.

Then, everything disappeared…

* * *

_Jun Sakurada. There is much that we must tell you, but these memories must remain hidden from you for the time being, deep within the deepest confines of your own subconscious._

_Beware, for there are forces out for the life of one catalyst that spells the destruction of that which robs your world of its resources in reality, a false reality that will spell doom for yours. You will lead these people - the people of N - into battle against it._

_But in order to do that - and in order to survive in this reality - you must attain the greatest closeness with your doll. That is to say, Jun Sakurada, that you must not only be the medium of the doll; you must BE the doll. Fear not, you will find a way. A nemesis - both old to your dolls and new to you - will be your key to discovery._

_But remember, Jun Sakurada that you have many allies, your closest being the Maidens of Rozen. After you merge with your doll, you will find them out after one failed attempt at vanquishing the enemy. Then you shall receive the prophecy. Only then, will you remember. Only then will you know more._

_At the right moment, you will have a dream of the doll carrying a message to you. When that time comes, speak to the doll again in reality, who will have a new medium within her. Tell her thoroughly about her dream; she will know what to do. Have faith._

_As for the memories of Henrietta Rhodes and Desh, those memories will be erased; they are of no use to you. Instead, you will merely remember a doll that crumbled in the hands of her creator, for she foolishly refused to release the captive Mysticae when her father ordered her to do so. And you will remember them disappearing into a bright light._

_We wish you well, and pray for your success. Farewell, soon to be General Jun Sakurada.

* * *

_

It was late at night in the Sakurada household. Jun had fallen fast asleep in his bed. At his bedside were three suitcases, one of which was still open. That had to have been where the dolls were kept. Except for the one in red who was sleeping next to the boy.

A silent Henrietta Rhodes, dressed in black stealth gear, tiptoed around his room to deliver the message in the orbs. One by one, she silently opened each case and placed a small orb in each one's hand. She slowly climbed up the foot of the bed. An orb went into the hands of the doll, and another into the hands of the future hero.

The last of the secret messages was finally delivered. With that, the doll returned to the mirror in the attic to rejoin her partner, or her officially titled Meta-side colleague. Meta-side colleagues were the partners that handled the affairs in the subconscious world. The Physio-side colleagues, such as Rhodes herself, handled the affairs in the waking world. The only real downside was that the Metas could only exist on the subconscious side. But for the most part, they didn't mind that a bit; it kept them very busy anyways.

Just like Desh. He had too much on the go to really care. In fact, he was right at home in the subconscious world.

"So, the message was delivered, then?" he asked her as he welcomed her back to his N-field.

"Message delivered," she replied as she arrived to the beautiful sight of a jungle meadow that bordered a large, lazy river. She sat along the riverbank, on a blanket that had a nearby basket in the middle. He sat in a karmic pose by her side, just watching the river roll by.

He sighed rather sadly.

Rhodes took note of this as she took a bite of curried fish. "Dear me. What troubles you, my dear?"

The old mystic looked over at her, tears beginning to form in his gentle green eyes. "I am saddened that there are only five short years left to us before we must go our separate ways, to our new lives in the waking world. And that can only mean that we may never see each other again."

She gently held his hand. "If that really is the case, we had best make the most of what we have before that time comes. That reminds me, there is a descendant of mine from Australia that I'll need to contact before too long. Her time is also fast approaching."

"Ah, yes. And her aboriginal friend shall be my successor."

She looked up at him again. "You know what I think? I think that there's also a good possibility that we _will_ see each other again in the physical world. All we really need is a good dose of faith. Don't you agree?"

He looked back at her, his eyes suddenly shining very brightly. "Now that you say such words… yes! You are absolutely right! Faith is the key!" He produced two cups from the basket, and poured a traditional Indian drink into each one. "Then I propose a toast."

"Indeed, old chap!" she replied as she took her own cup in hand. "Here's to five years of a fine service to a higher cause!"

"And to us!" He raised his cup. "May we always find our way together again!"

"Hear, hear!" She raised hers right up to his. "And good health to us each day!"

They both raised their drink up to their lips in one lively sip.

Just as the river before them, their lives went on. This time, they felt very happy and content about it.

* * *

**And there you have it, folks. I hope you enjoyed my first fanfic, because I have something pretty epic lined up after this!**

**So give me at least five or ten ratings (good, bad or downright ugly.) Tell me what you guys think!  
**


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